


In the Valley of Kings

by ThePackWantstheD



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: 2016 Summer Olympics, Alternate Universe - Not Hockey Player(s), Ambiguous/Open Ending, Fencing, In an abstract way, M/M, Olympics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 01:31:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7738018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePackWantstheD/pseuds/ThePackWantstheD
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As two of Team Canada's leaders, Sidney and Jonathan are asked to give the summer Olympians a pep talk. </p><p>They go to a party afterwards and Sidney developes a crush on Olympic fencer, Claude Giroux.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Valley of Kings

**Author's Note:**

> Title from Barns Courtney's "Glitter and Gold."
> 
> Shout out to RachelMantegna for looking at this even though she's Canadian and doesn't enjoy the Summer Olympics.

Sidney stood in the corner of the party, feeling a little awkward and out of place.    
  
When he and Jonny had been asked to come out to Rio and give the Canadian Olympic team a pep talk, he'd expected that he'd just have to give a quick speech before going back to his hotel.    
  
He hadn't expected for the Olympians to drag him into their post opening ceremony party.    
  
Opening ceremony parties were pretty tame since most of the athletes weren't going to risk fucking up their chances for a medal by messing with their diets, so he wasn't all that concerned about the party itself.    
  
It was just that he didn't know any of these people and it made him feel awkward.   
  
It wasn't like he knew everyone who played for Canada during the Winter Olympics either, but after living together for two weeks, a lot of them had gotten to know each other. A fair amount of returning athletes knew one another and had struck up friendships despite their differences - Sidney didn't really like figure skating but Tessa Virtue was a sweetheart and he loved talking to her -  so being at an Olympic party where Tazer was the only person he knew was a little weird.    
  
Tazer hadn't helped any by leaving him by himself. His alternate had disappeared into the crowd almost as soon as the party and started. Sidney had spent a few minutes cursing him before settling for wishing Shea had been sent with him instead.    
  
"You know, I think you ruined your own pep talk. I mean I definitely felt encouraged when you first gave it, but watching you stand in a corner frowning for an hour kind of ruined that."   
  
Sidney spooked a bit at the words, not having realized anyone had approached him, and the drink in his hands spilled over his hands.    
  
Whoever was talking to him let out a small laugh. Their voice was full of amusement as they said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."   
  
"It's fine," Sidney said, switching his drink to the other hand. He shook his hand out a bit,  as if flinging the water on it all over would magically dry it. "I should've been paying attention."   
  
"Well, probably. Aren't you the star here?"   
  
The words had the potential to be bitter, but instead they had been delivered with the same casual amusement as the apology before them.    
  
Sidney turned his head to see who he was talking to.    
  
The man standing by him was around his height, give or take a few inches. He had dark hair, a shade that straddled the line between brown and red, that was cut close to his head and smoothed back. A beard covered his face and he was smiling just wide enough for Sidney to see he was missing a tooth in the top row.    
  
He'd taken the Canadian sweater from the parade off, leaving him in just a loose fitting tee shirt and black pants.    
  
He wasn't the most attractive person Sidney had ever seen - even the straightest members of the Canadian hockey team had admitted to looking at Patrick Sharp and PK Subban in the locker room - but he was good looking enough for Sidney to feel himself straightening up a little.    
  
"I'm pretty sure you're the star here," Sidney pointed out, "considering you're the Olympian right now."   
  
The man shrugged one shoulder as he said,  "The summer Olympian. I love Canada, but I'm pretty sure we both know most of the country isn't gonna be watching me."   
  
Sidney gave a small hum before saying, "People tune into the big ticket events, even if they don't watch the whole thing."   
  
"I don't swim, run, or do gymnastics," the man said. "So I don't think much of Canada is going to be watching."   
  
"Well what do you do then?" Sidney asked.    
  
The other man's lips stretched into a wide grin, something sly and sleazy. "Why don't I give you a hint and you can guess?"   
  
Sidney sucked his bottom lip into his mouth, taking a moment to consider the situation. He had realized it when he'd first approached, but now he was relatively certain he was being flirted with. He didn't really mind attractive men flirting with him, but he wasn't sure how serious the other was being.    
  
"Okay," he agreed finally, running his tongue along his lips to wet them. The man's gaze followed the motion, brown eyes sparking with hunger and want. Definitely interested then, not just flirting with the Tyler Seguin brand of casual naturality. "Give me my clue."   
  
The man leaned closer, too close to just be friendly, and murmured, "I am really great with a sword."   
  
It was a frankly terrible innuendo, but Sidney felt his face heat up.    
  
Before he could say anything, and he was really leaning toward giving the man an opportunity to demonstrate because he had a real weakness for good looking guys with nice smiles, someone shouted out, "Claude! Schenner's trying to convince one of the boxers to hit him!"   
  
His partner glanced over his shoulder before sighing. He gave a small apologetic smile. "Sorry, I have to go stop a teammate from getting knocked out."   
  
"Oh." Sidney felt a pang of disappointment as he nodded. "Okay. Well, good luck then."   
  
"Yeah, thanks."   
  
Sidney bit his lip as the man - Claude - straightened up and turned to walk away.   
  
Before he could stop himself, he called out, "Hey." Claude stopped, looking over his shoulder to see Sidney and raising an eyebrow. "I'll be watching. Even if no one else in Canada is."   
  
Sidney caught a glimpse of the bright, blinding smile that blossomed across Claude's face before the same voice from before called for him again.    


* * *

When Sidney got to his hotel room that night, he settled his laptop on his lap and looked up the Canadian fencing team.    
  
It didn't take very long for Sidney to find Claude's name, mainly because there weren't that many Canadian fencers.    
  
Claude Giroux fenced épée. He was scheduled to compete in the individual competition and the team competition - alongside brothers Brayden and Luke Schenn.     
  
Once he knew Claude's full name, it was easy to put it into Google and read more about him.    
  
This would be Claude's second Olympic games. He'd been in Beijing, finishing off podium but still in the top ten, but had missed London on account of a wrist injury that had needed surgery.    
  
He'd come back from it, though. He'd missed the World Championship in 2013, but had won gold the next two years and taken silver in the most recent one.    
  
Canada had never won a medal in fencing, but apparently Claude and his teammates had a real chance both individually and as a team.    
  
Sidney couldn't help feeling a little awed by that. There was pressure to living in the shadow of giants like the Canadian Hockey team did, but he couldn't imagine carrying the responsibility of bringing their country their first medal in an event.    
  
After that, Sidney started searching for information on Claude himself.    
  
There wasn't a whole lot, the interviews he'd done after his Championship runs were more focused on fencing then him personally, but there was a twitter account that showed an unexplainable love for grilled cheese and a ridiculous amount of affection for his dog. He apparently lived and trained in Philadelphia, which was fine until Sidney saw that he actually cheered for the Flyers which made him wrinkle his nose a bit.    
  
All in all, Sidney found his interest in Claude growing every time he learned something new about him.    
  
When Jonny and Sidney agreed to talk to Team Canada, they'd been given special passes to attend any of the events they wanted to as a thank you.    
  
Sidney wasn't planning on using them, wanted to focus on getting ready for World Cup of Hockey training camp, but he knew Jonny was.    
  
By the time Sidney went to sleep that night, he'd already shot Jonny a text telling him that he'd changed his mind about going back to Canada right away and asking what Jonny had planned on doing tomorrow because Sidney was going to tag along if he didn't mind.    


* * *

"So I know you told me to drop it," Jonny said, sitting next to Sidney in the arena the fencing matches were taking place in, "but I still don't know why we're here instead of on Copacabana Beach."   
  
"We've been on Copacabana beach for three days," Sidney pointed out. Even as he spoke,  his eyes were focused on the floor where Claude was standing. He was standing next to his coach with his foil and his mask under one arm. His head was tilted towards his coach, letting him know he was listening, while his eyes were focused on the stage in front of him as if he could see how the match would play out just by staring at it. "I thought when you said you were staying in Rio after our speech, you meant you wanted to watch the Olympics."   
  
"I have been watching the Olympics," Jonny answered. "I've been enjoying the beach volleyball tournament immensely."   
  
Sidney couldn't help the small quirk of his lips, eyes darting over to Jonny as he asked, "The men's or the women's?"   
  
"Both," Jonny said. He had a bag of kale chips in his hand and it was at this point that Jonny chose to pop one into his mouth, munching on it obnoxiously.    
  
"Stop," Sidney said, laughing a bit as he shoved his hand into Jonny's face to get him to turn away. "You're acting too much like a Hawk right now."   
  
"Hey now," Jonny said, voice half chiding. "I'm the only one allowed to point out how annoying they are."   
  
Sidney didn't respond, just turned back to the stage while laughing under his breath.    
  
He trailed off awkwardly when he realized Claude had turned away from the stage and was staring up at him. He had his head tilted in curiosity rather than attentiveness. There was a hint of surprise in his eyes.    
  
Acting on autopilot, Sidney flashed a smile and held two thumbs up.    
  
He felt validated when Claude seemed to let out a laugh, a grin spreading on his face before he ducked his head down and pressed a fist against his mouth.    
  
"Ohhhhhh," Jonny drew out. "That's why we're watching fencing."   
  
"Yeah," Sidney murmured, because it felt kind of unfair to lie to Jonny when he was essentially gatecrashing his holiday. "I met him after the opening ceremony."   
  
"You hooked up on the first day we were here?" Jonny said, sounding a strange mixture of shocked and proud. "Seriously? Didn't the guys spend our whole two weeks in Vancouver trying to get laid?"   
  
"Haven't hooked up with him yet," Sidney said. "His teammates were doing something stupid, so he had to go sort them out."   
  
Jonny hummed in consideration before asking, "So you changed your schedule right before a major tournament for someone you haven't hooked up with?" Sidney felt a little embarrassed when Jonny put it like that, so he just made a noise of agreement and hoped Jonny dropped it. Jonny didn't, because he was an asshole. Instead, he said, "Huh. You really like this guy?"   
  
Sidney thought about how his only actual interaction with Claude had been a two minute conversation at a party full of obnoxious athletes, but how he'd actually kind of enjoyed that two minute conversation even though he'd really wanted to get the hell out of that party at that point. He thought about how he was reluctantly charmed by the things he'd seen on Claude's twitter - his obsession with grilled cheese and the massive amount of selfies with him kissing his dog.    
  
"No," Sidney answered. "But I think I could."   
  
"And him? Does he like you or was he just looking for an Olympic hook up?"   
  
Sidney hadn't really thought of that.    
  
The way Claude had come onto him had been a little strong, but surely someone who was actually considering and would be in the village would be easier?    
  
"I have no idea," Sidney answered, honestly.    


* * *

The thing was that the idea Claude might've just wanted a one night stand didn't stop Sidney from being enamored with him.    
  
Sidney was kind of surprised by the whole thing. He saw people he found attractive fairly frequently, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a crush on someone.    
  
There was just something about Claude that Sidney found reluctantly charming and it kept dragging Sidney's thoughts back to him.   
  
Sidney didn't really know how to say "hey, I know you were probably looking for a hook up and my schedule is crazy busy for half the year but I'd like to go on a date with you" without sounding like an asshole and he didn't want to risk their conversation throwing Claude off balance when he was still in competition, so he pushed it aside.    
  
He would try and catch Claude after his events ended. If that failed, Sidney figured he could ask one of his teammates to drop Claude his number on twitter or make an account he would never use to do it himself.    
  
Sidney spent the next couple of days the same as he'd spent the first couple, hanging out on Copacabana beach with Jonny and catching beach volleyball matches or walking around Rio with his phone in his hand so he could send Geno and Flower pictures until they were appropriately jealous or lying around in his hotel room to cool down because he really did prefer cool temperatures to heat.    
  
It was on the seventh day of competition, three days after the fencing match Sidney had attended, that Sidney saw Claude again.   


* * *

Sidney and Jonny were having lunch at some restaurant just off the beach, they were planning on going to the Men's Volleyball match at two, when Sidney saw someone walking up to their table out of the corner of his eye.    
  
He turned slightly and stopped when he saw Claude walking up to him. Sidney could see his teammates sitting at a table nearby, Luke's head tucked down to look at his menu while Brayden was twisted around to watch Claude with a bright grin on his face.    
  
"Hey," Claude greeted when he noticed Sidney had spotted him. "I saw you when we were being seated and thought I'd come say hi."   
  
"Hi," Sidney said. He could feel Jonny's eyes on them, but it didn't stop him from smiling at Claude. "Already sick of wearing the gold?"   
  
Claude let out a small laugh and shook his head. "No, not sick of it. Brayden was throwing a fit about Luke and I wearing our meals around him. I'm at least eighty-three percent sure he was fucking with us, but we left them behind anyway."   
  
"Maybe you can wear them on the fourteenth," Sidney suggested. "You know, when your team wins a gold?"   
  
Claude's smile widened a little more and Sidney felt a rush of pride at being the one to put it there. "You sound pretty confident in my abilities."   
  
"Hopeful," Sidney corrected. Feeling a rush of bravery, he continued, "Because I was thinking I could take you out to dinner afterwards. Maybe not the night of since I'm sure you'd wanna celebrate with your team, but the night after?"   
  
Surprise flickered across Claude's face. It was clear in his voice as he said, "You wanna have dinner?"   
  
Sidney swallowed thickly. He debated the merits of backpedaling before settling on just nodding. "Yeah. If you'd be up for it."   
  
"Yeah," Claude said after a moment. He nodded. "Okay. That sounds great."   
  
"Are you sure?" Sidney questioned. He wished he didn't have to, but he didn't want Claude to go out with him if he didn't want to. "Because you don't have to say yes just because-"   
  
"No, I definitely want to," Claude interrupted. He looked a bit embarrassed for a moment before saying, "I just thought you might have wanted a hook up?"   
  
Jonny snorted, interrupting the conversation. "Sidney doesn't know how to hook up."   
  
"Ignore him," Sidney declared, aiming a kick at Jonny under the table. His toe connected with Jonny's shim and he heard the Blackhawks' captain grunt at the impact. He swiped his tongue along his lips, feeling a bit nervous again as he said, "So dinner after your team's match?"   
  
Claude gave a small nod. "Dinner after I win a second gold."   
  
"Even if you don't," Sidney said. "Though I really hope you do."   
  
"Me too," Claude said. "I'll probably be a shit date if I'm moping over missing podium."

**Author's Note:**

> 1) The idea for this fic came at 3:30am when I was thinking about the Olympics. 
> 
> 2) Originally Sid was gonna be a summer Olympian too but I went "nah" at the last minute.
> 
> 3) I love writing and reading enamored Sid?? Just make him the sappiest hockey player ever pls. 
> 
> 4) Claude is a fencer solely bc I remembered his flow from the 2012-era and thought about that scene from Parent Trap where Lindsay Lohan #1 takes her helmet off and whips her hair all around. 
> 
> 7) The Toews/Crosby friendship means everything to me. 
> 
> 8) This fic takes place in 2016 which is both so disappointing and so exciting? Claude looks awesome now days, but I miss his stupid hair. 
> 
> 9) I know nothing about fencing except for what I've learned from the Olympics and vague google searches!! Sorry for inaccuracies! It was a Wikipedia that told me Canada doesn't have a single fencing medal but that could be wrong?
> 
> 10) My fav thing is how Jonny constantly calls Shawzy and Kaner and others annoying in interviews but in that like...I'm your big brother and I'm allowed to do it but no one else can way?
> 
> 11) I hate Jonny's characterization in this? He came out more like Sharpy or Kaner, I think. Too much bro, not enough serious.
> 
> 12) When I was writing this, I kept imagining that Reese's commercial with the winter Olympian trying out summer sports? Only it's years later when Sidney & Claude are out (and maybe married) and someone gets them to try each others sports? And Claude is great bc he played hockey before settling on fencing, but Sidney is a fucking trainwreck when he tries to fence. 
> 
> 13) I think the ending is a bit rushed and I apologize for that. The whole fic is a bit rushed actually. Hopefully it's still enjoyable?
> 
> 14) Also the intention was that Claude one gold in individual épée and Luke won bronze.


End file.
